Demonstrators March From Woodruff To Piedmont Parks, Deface Monument

ATLANTA, GA -- A day after deadly violence in Charlottesville, demonstrators in Atlanta marched from downtown to Midtown, defacing a monument in Piedmont Park. The statue, dubbed the Peace Monument, is still standing but the olive branch it once held is now gone.

Hundreds of protesters massed downtown in response to the deadly riot in Charlottesville, where right-wing demonstrators convened to hold a rally. Although hundreds were in attendance, only a handful of people got rowdy, witnesses told local media. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Read more: Feds probe deadly attack in Charlottesville

In Virgina, police arrested James Alex Fields, 20, after a car plowed into counter-protesters, killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring several.

In Atlanta, the march began at Woodruff Park and ended in Piedmont Park. The Peace Monument, which symbolizes soldiers on both sides of the Civil War laying down their weapons, was spray-painted red and reportedly chained.

A lone police officer was seen on camera, telling WAGA-TV, "We're not here to harm anyone; we're not here to take away anyone's rights," said Maj. Timothy Peek with the Atlanta Police Department. "We want to just simply serve and protect."

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Decatur also had a rally as several hundred residents gathered at the Square to show solidarity with those who lost their lives the day before.

"It's a disgrace," Dan Vogel, who attended the Decatur event, said of Charlottesville. "I think people need to stand up and say that. It shouldn't be happening in 2017," he said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

No arrests have been made in the city, according to news reports.

Watch: Atlanta Protestors Damage Confederate Monument

Image via Craig Johnson / Patch